Morning journal and courier., 1887-01-05
PULPIT THOUGHTS.

Preachers Are Not Always Intent UpoR the Sermon They Are Deliver. ing.
 From the Chicago Inter-Ocean.1
 ssI had an odd exp rience last Sunday" /" said one of the most prominent clergymen in the city. s'I was in the midst of my ser mon, thoroughly warmed to the subject, and was talking first to the people on the main floor and then to those in the gallery, when I noticed directly in front of me a restless chubby boy who insisted in leaning over the gallery rail- Occasionally he would get one leg up as though he were going to climb over, and his mamma would make clutch at him and put him down with bounce on the seat beside her. In two minutes the boy would be again in his favorite attitude of looking down on the people below.
 'tAn undercurrent of my thought took up the possibility of the boy toppling over and his mother clutching at him, grasping one foot and tugging with might and main to drag him back, while the fat man behind her exerted himself in assisting her to maintain her own equilibrium. This stubborn under current worked consistently at this spectacle until it came to the surface in climax that set me laughing in the midst of my sermon. Of course nothing of the kind occurred. My secondary line of thought had simply taken up the merest suggestion of possibility and worked forward to a ridiculous climax.
 'Dr. Patterson told me on one occasion of similar experience of his own. He was preaching very earnest discourse and was carrying his congregation with him, when an English pug dog crossed the line of his vii sion. The dog attracted the attention of no one in the auditorium, and there was no req son why it should have attracted the atten- tion of the preacher. but the thought came to him that the dog had it's tail curled about as tight as circumstances would permit. Then cams the question if the tail was curled once more what would happen. Would it not be possible to curl the tail so tight as to lift the hinder parts of the dog and start him walking on his fore feet with his tail in the air2 All the time he had been going on with his sermon, but when this odd conceit of giving the dogs tail an extra curl came over him he burst into horse laugh.
 1.-The interruption came not only in the middle of proposition, but in the middle of sentence. He broke off without cere- mony into laugh that startled himself quite as much the congregation. Once started he found it very difficult to stop, and al- though he used his handkerchief and made pretense of having paroxysm of coughing, still he laughed until the tears came. Even when he started again on his sermon he found great difficulty in getting away from the idea of that dogs tail, and several times ms yOlce CremDleQ ana ne naQ 70 Snake nlm- self as one in dream"
 ssPreachers have odd experiences of which they say very little," said another minister. "When I instituted my Sunday evening meetings was very much grat1hed at the large attendance of young people I attrib- ated the large audience of course to interest in religious services, and took all the young ladies and young gentlemen into my heart and praised them without stint for their ex- hibition of zeal. One night as I announced the hymn, T Need Thee Every Hour,' I dis tinctly saw young lady in one of the front seats nudge young gentleman at her side Three seats back saw young gentleman nudge young lady, and five seats back saw another gentleman nudge young lady. This set me to thinking, and the next Sunday night gave out the hymn with my eyes wide open, ano as I uttered the words, I Need Thee Every Hour, saw several people nudge several other people, and my notions of the zeal of these young ladies and gentle men changed. They came to church to be in each others company